As telecommunication devices become smaller for improved portability, ergonomic problems arise with the smaller devices for the miniaturization of the user interface means, for example the buttons of a keypad. In particular the size of a keypad for dialing phone numbers is a major limiting factor in the miniaturization of portable telephony devices. As the industry moves towards smaller devices for enhanced portability, there has been a trend towards miniaturization of the traditional twelve button keypad and alternate dialing methods utilizing scrolling wheels, cursors, trackballs and virtual keypads. Applicant believes all of these methods present ergonomic and/or performance drawbacks.